White House 1939

When Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) arrived in Washington,
he was so excited by the Capitol and monuments that he went
on a tour, passing the White House. Well, the world was a little
different then. On May 20, 1995, Pennsylvania Avenue NW in
front of the White House was closed to traffic. After the closing,
a reader wrote The Post and remembered how people used
to have picnic lunches on the White House lawn.